Some sobering numbers on college drinking

Published 1:00 am, Thursday, October 22, 2009

As schools mark National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, this much is clear: The Capital Region's college students can put back quite a few beers.

Nationally, seven out of 10 college students, or 1.4 million, under age 21 consumed alcohol in the past month, according to Karen Carpenter-Palumbo, commissioner of the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. A million of them met the criteria for binge drinking, generally defined as consuming four or five drinks in a two-hour period.

That would mean 28,000 Capital District college students under age 21 drank in the past month, and 20,000 of them have been binge drinkers, Carpenter-Palumbo said.

Alcohol is the top drug of choice for young people, she said, costing New York state about $3.2 billion a year.

The group joined with the University at Albany to produce a video that lays out the danger of underage and binge drinking including students acting out fighting at parties and footage of an actual fatal car accident. It also shows teens having fun doing things that don't involve getting hammered such as playing the guitar and getting ready for a dance.

Those wishing to report underage alcohol sales or an underage drinking party can do so by calling 1-(866)-UNDER21.

Generous in life and death

Lewis Golub died this week at age 78 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease. Golub, along with cousin Neil Golub, took over the Price Chopper grocery store chain from their fathers, Ben and Bill Golub, in the early 1970s. The two men expanded the business from 50 stores to its current 120 locations

The Golubs have long been among the region's most generous philanthropists.

Just a few weeks before he passed away, Golub and his wife, Colleen, made a $500,000 donation to Union Graduate College for the school's new Graduate Center. The school didn't even have time to publicize the donation before he died. Golub was a founding member of the Graduate College.

Mystery gifts

There is a money fairy flitting about the higher education world.

Thus far, an anonymous donor has given a total of $103 million to 20 different colleges, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Most of the gifts went to institutions headed by women.

The money has been used for everything from student book fees to scholarships for minority and female students. Many colleges have used the money to patch financial gaps left by state budget shortfalls and declines in private donations and to ease pressure on families as a result of the recession, the Chronicle reports.

The donor has requested anonymity and the checks have been turned over by third parties, such as lawyers. Speculation on the donor's identity remains rampant.

Got a tip? Scott Waldman can be reached at 454-5080 or by e-mail at swaldman@timesunion.com.